Valcucine's Speakers' Corner: the value of connections at Milan Design Week 2025

Judith van Vliet, Color designer

Judith van Vliet is an internationally renowned color designer, founder of The Color Authority, and host of the podcast of the same name dedicated to the world of color. Previously, she has held prominent roles such as President of the Color Marketing Group, Senior Color Designer at Avient ColorWorks, and Creative Director of ColorForward.

Alessandro Mininno, founder of Flatmates

Alessandro Mininno, with over ten years of experience in digital innovation and technology, is an expert in the field. He founded Flatmates, a platform that is revolutionizing shared living spaces. With a career spanning from Mondadori Electa to Expo 2015, Alessandro has a successful track record, and his newsletter, Click This Week, is a reference point for technology enthusiasts. With 400 million views on Giphy, he is also a highly successful GIF creator.

Eszter Radnóczy, architect, founder of este'r partners

Eszter Radnóczy is an architect and the founder of este'r partners, a studio with over 20 years of experience in architecture, interior design, and turnkey projects. Leading a team of 25 professionals, she combines innovation and sustainability to develop tailored solutions. With an international approach, she is behind high-end projects in the residential, commercial, and hospitality sectors.

Maurizio Vianello, CEO of Valcucine

Maurizio Vianello is a business leader with a proven track record of driving growth for niche excellence companies. Since 2021, he has served as CEO of Valcucine. His deep understanding of the market and his passion for innovation translate into successful strategies for brand development and expansion into major global markets. This strategic vision is the result of a solid academic background: after graduating in Mechanical Engineering, he completed his studies at the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania.

Philipp Mainzer, Creative Director and CEO of e15
Farah Ebrahimi, Art Director for e15

Philipp Mainzer, founder of e15, is a German designer and architect known for his minimalist approach and attention to detail. Farah Ebrahimi, with her experience in marketing and communications, has worked alongside Mainzer to promote the e15 brand internationally.

Silvia Badalotti, prompt designer

Silvia Badalotti is a photographer and prompt designer with an original style defined by meticulous cultural research. She collaborates with major Italian and international publications and has created advertising campaigns for brands such as Prada, Tod's, Gucci, Roberto Cavalli, S. Pellegrino, and Bulgari. Over the past four years, she has explored new artistic forms through Artificial Intelligence, creating innovative images, including the viral campaign for ETRO and the communication project for Fuorisalone 2025.

Lyndon Neri, Founding partner Neri&Hu Design and Research Office

Lyndon Neri, Hon. FAIA, co-founded Neri&Hu Design and Research Office in Shanghai in 2006. He holds a Master of Architecture from Harvard and a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from UC Berkeley. Besides practice, Neri is dedicated to architectural education, teaching at various universities. He was Visiting Faculty at Princeton in 2024-2025, Howard Friedman Visiting Professor at UC Berkeley in 2023, and held design critic roles at Harvard and Yale.

Juan Pablo Boz, Chief Marketing Officer di Nice

A Global executive with 20+ years of leadership in Marketing, Sales, and IT transformation across the Americas, EMEA, and Asia. Proven track record in brand strategy, digital transformation, and revenue growth in Fortune 500 and mid-sized organizations. Deep expertise in driving P&L performance, building high-impact teams, and optimizing global operations. In addition to being multi-lingual, Juan is aware of international and regional economic, geopolitical, and cultural considerations impacting business strategy worldwide.

Vaisakh Varkey Mathunny, founder and Director of Design of Two Plus Design Collective studio

Vaisakh Varkey Mathunny is a registered architect with a Bachelor's Degree in Architecture from the University School of Design, Mysore, India. He founded BOX in 2012 and later merged it into 2PKM Architects. As Director of Design at Two Plus Design Collective since 2024, he oversees diverse projects globally. Vaisakh is also a co-founder at Intellithings, firm that integrats digital technologies into architectural solutions.

Nicola Ricciardi, director of miart

Nicola Ricciardi has been the artistic director of miart, Milan's international modern and contemporary art fair, since 2020. Previously, from 2016 to 2020, he held the same role at OGR in Turin, where he curated over 20 exhibitions and more than 70 concerts. Throughout his career, he has curated exhibitions in Italy and the United States and collaborated with various art magazines. He currently teaches Contemporary Art History in the post-graduate Visual Arts and Curatorial Studies program at NABA – Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti in Milan.

Luca Molinari,
Curator, Critic, Professor of Theory and Design and founder of Luca Molinari Studio

Luca Molinari is an architect, critic, and curator. He is a full professor of Architectural Theory and Design at the University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli.” He has curated exhibitions and projects for international institutions, including the Triennale di Milano and the Venice Biennale. The author of numerous essays, he collaborates with national and international publications and is the editorial director of Platform. His work focuses on the relationship between architecture, cities, and contemporary society.

Martins Hermansons, designer at FortyFour Studio

Martins Hermansons is the chief designer at the studio FortyFour, based in Riga, Latvia. A graduate of the Latvian Academy of Art, he founded FortyFour, specializing in interior design, architecture, and lifestyle, with projects at an international level. Previously, he worked at Studio Hermansons.

Studio Truly Truly

Truly Truly is a design studio based in Dordrecht, Netherlands. Founded by designers Joel Booy and Kate Booy, it operates in various creative fields, including product design, lighting, furniture, textiles, spatial installations, and artistic direction.

Stefano Schiavo, founder of Sharazad

Stefano is the founder and partner of Sharazad Consulting, an expert in strategic marketing and business innovation with managerial experience at Lago, known for its innovative design. A speaker and collaborator with business schools, universities, and companies, he launched The Fab Sessions in 2013, focusing on Lean Startup and innovation management. Author of “#Maker” (2017) and “La Trappola del Business Plan” (2018), he promotes innovation in business.

Daniel Treacy, Head of Design at Rakumba

Dan Treacy leads Rakumba's in-house product design and development team. An award winning designer himself, Dan's industry reputation for design and engineering excellence speaks for itself. He is responsible for the meticulous detailing and complex technical problem solving underpinning Rakumba's design ethos ‘effortless complexity'.

An opportunity for reflection and inspiration

The Speakers' Corner is an unmissable opportunity to delve into key topics such as sustainability, innovative materials, and future design. By placing the kitchen at the center of the debate, Valcucine reaffirms its role as a cultural driver in the design world, encouraging reflection on how design can transform the way we live and interact with our environment.

Come along with us on this journey of ideas and connections during Milan Design Week 2025.